Registration at the host university
Newly selected CEMS students will be officially pre-registered at the host university by the HSG CEMS Office, after which they will be contacted directly by the host university. It is the student's own responsibility to follow all instructions andmeet all deadlines of the host university regarding university application andenrolment, course registration, etc.
Start date and orientation programme at the host university
It is the student’s responsibility not to miss the start date of the term at the host university. Term dates at the host university often differ from the HSG’s termdates. Please consider this when selecting possible universities. Most universities will also organise orientation programmes for guest students prior to the beginning of the term. Students must arrive at the host university on time for orientation and the start of their courses. Late arrivals leave a bad impression on the host university, cause them extra work, may cost the HSG future exchange slots and finally, put you at a disadvantage in getting your term off to a good start.
Transfer of credits towards HSG degree
Coursework from a term abroad must satisfy the standards of the Master’s Level both in terms of subject matter and academically. In exceptional cases, undergraduate courses may be credited to Contextual Studies if the host university does not offer any corresponding courses at the Master’s level.
No compulsory subjects can be credited to the Master’s level. For courses to be credited to core electives, please see our programme-specific rules. The course plan for the term abroad must be approved by the Admissions and Crediting Office before starting the exchange semester.
It is your responsibility to obtain the course descriptions in time from your host university.
Important information regarding the crediting process can be found in studentweb.
Crediting guidelines
A minimum of 16 transferable ECTS credits must be completed with a positive grade at the host university, otherwise no credits from the exchange term will be
transferred towards the HSG degree. A maximum of 30 ECTS credits can be credited to the HSG degree. To obtain the Master's degree at least 60 ECTS must be earned at the University of St.Gallen.
Please see the implementation provisions concerning coursework done by HSG students (Outgoing) at other universities.
Crediting process
Step 1: Preparation:
Plan your course programme at the host university.
Step 2: Create a crediting request in Compass and save as a PDF
Send your crediting request (PDF) together with your Acceptance Letter and the detailed, official course descriptions to admissions@unisg.ch (E-mail subject line:
Exchange term transfer credit/your degree programme/planned exchange semester date/host university).
Course descriptions should not be older than one year and should include detailed information on content, workload, pre-requisites, literature, examination format
and grading. In addition, the course level (Bachelor / Master) should be visible.
Step 3: Processing your crediting request
The Admissions and Crediting Office will process your crediting request as fast as possible. Please note that at certain times of the year many crediting requests are received simultaneously and may therefore need two to three weeks to process.
Please plan enough time to process your application (4-8 weeks before the start of the exchange semester).
Step 4: Crediting of coursework from a term abroad
Make sure that your original grade transcript from the host university is submitted to the CEMS Office. PDF documents are only permitted if sent directly from the host university to cems@unisg.ch.
As soon as the CEMS Office has received all the required documents (experience report, HSG representation confirmation), they will forward your grade transcript to the Admissions and Crediting Office for your results to be credited. Once the credit transfer is complete, you will receive a notification of results.
Coursework completed during an exchange semester may be credited no later than by the end of the lecture period of the subsequent semester. Crediting is not possible at a later date.
HSG enrolment during the term abroad
You must maintain your enrolment status at the HSG throughout the whole duration of the CEMS MIM programme, also during your term abroad and must pay the HSG semester tuition fees. HSG and CEMS enrolment must be completed in Compass according to the official HSG enrolment deadlines.
HSG bidding during the term abroad
During the term abroad you will have access to HSG bidding, which will be limited to those courses whose examinations you are entitled to take: compulsory courses and core electives in the Master’s degree programmes. Bidding must be completed in Compass according to the HSG bidding period.
HSG examinations
Students participating in a recognised study abroad programme, are permitted to take examinations for compulsory subjects, core electives as well as languages (without class attendance) either in the central examination period or defer them to the next alternative examination period. Advanced sittings of examinations are not permitted.
See also the latest implementation provisions concerning alternative examination dates on studentweb.
Registration for examinations taking place at regular and alternative dates must be completed in Compass. Students must first complete their semester enrolment in Compass so that they can select the option to register provisionally for the alternative examination date. A provisional registration is not an official registration; the official exam registration must be completed during the regular examination registration period.
Examinations in the central examination period
There is a possibility to write exams for compulsory subjects and core electives in the alternative examination period.
Exams at the host university
All coursework from a term abroad must be completed at the host university. For legal reasons, exams not taken at the host university due to illness, for example, may not be administered at the University of St.Gallen.
Costs
Tuition fees must be paid to the HSG during the term abroad. HSG students are not required to pay basic tuition fees at the host university but will be responsible for all other costs related to their term abroad. A 100 Euro student registration and handling fee will be invoiced to the students directly from the CEMS Global Office in Paris. This fee is used to fund central services provided by the CEMS Association/CEMS Global Office. Additionally, there might be fees for the Block Seminar and the Responsible Global Citizenship Seminar.
Scholarships Swiss-European Mobility Programme (SEMP)
Students on exchange at one of our European partner universities through the partner university exchange, CEMS, Themis, DM2 or SSE double degree programmes are eligible to apply for a SEMP scholarship. The application procedures will be available in the Mobility-Online portal after allocation of the exchange university. SEMP programme regulations may be subject to change by the Swiss Federal Council.
Sublet room
During your term abroad you can sublet your room to a guest student coming to St.Gallen. Contact our Housing Office for more information: housing@unisg.ch.
Promotion of the HSG while abroad
CEMS MIM students are required to promote the HSG to local students during their term abroad. This can be done at a study abroad fair or similar events, such as international dinners or the like. The promotion activity must be confirmed by the host university on the HSG representation confirmation form and the completed form must be uploaded to the Mobility-Online portal within four weeks after the end of the term abroad. The form can be downloaded from the Mobility-Online portal.
Experience report
All CEMS MIM students are required to write an experience report on their term abroad and upload it to the Mobility-Online portal within four weeks after the end of the term abroad at the latest. These reports are a helpful source of information for future students considering a term abroad. The report should contain information on your personal experience with the host university, the courses, as well as the people and culture of your host country. Guidelines for writing the report can be found in the Mobility-Online portal.